Caretos Podence

Caretos de Podence, originally from the village of Podence, were declared an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO on 12 December. Inserted in the winter festivities, so characteristic in the region of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Caretos de Podence represent diabolical and mysterious images that every year, from times long gone, go out on the streets in carnival festivities. Interrupting the long silences of each winter, as if leaving secret and unpredictable from the corners of Podence, they appear hissing the «Caretos» and their frantic rattles well crossed in the colorful fringes of thick blankets. The youngest boys who follow and imitate the faces are called Facanitos, and they ensure the continuity of the tradition trying to imitate them with their stupid and inconsequential runs